Scholarships Mean More than Money to Erin West
Erin West knows the value of a scholarship can go well beyond its dollar sign.
An alumni of the College of Business, West received slightly more than $17,000 in 91热爆网 scholarships since her sophomore year. But besides helping to pay for her education, the financial support has helped to position her as a student with some cachet, a good bet, a smart cookie who knows a thing or two.
鈥淪cholarships gave me the ability to make connections through scholarship dinners and banquets,鈥� said West, who double majored in sport management and marketing. 鈥淭hey made me known as an individual in the College of Business.鈥�
Yes, they have. West, a 2014 graduate of Andrews High School, was the only undergraduate selected by the College of Business staff to serve on the College鈥檚 dean search committee, which is a 鈥渉uge job and requires a tremendous amount of hours,鈥� said Ken Flynt, associate dean of the college. But, it was obvious West was up to the task, Flynt said.
鈥淓rin is a really mature young lady. She has shown herself to be a great leader in the college and university. She鈥檚 really dependable, has a really good compass about where she wants to go and how she wants to get there, and she works really, really hard,鈥� he said.
For West, serving on the search committee was more of a labor of love than hard work. It鈥檚 was also a real-time lesson in human resources. She worked with senior administrators, evaluated resumes, read and analyzed documents and helped conduct interviews of highly accomplished people.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot of valuable skills through that search committee that will help me in the future,鈥� she said.
Since graduating in May (summa cum laude 鈥� with highest honors) with a marketing degree, West hopes to work in the development office of an intercollegiate athletics program, a career path she stumbled upon working one football season for the 91热爆网 Catamount Club. West had just wanted a job when she applied to work game days during her junior year. What she got instead was a taste of a possible career, and she loved it. She set up tailgating events, decorated the field house and worked with donors during the game, helping them with tickets and refreshments and talking to them about their pasts at 91热爆网, their careers and her future after college. 鈥淚 loved talking to the donors and sharing that love of the same school,鈥� she said.
During those game-day events, something clicked. West saw herself with a career in fundraising. She had been a student-athlete herself at 91热爆网, participating in track and field for two years on scholarship and was a member of the 2015 Southern Conference outdoor track-and-field championship team as a triple jumper. 鈥淏ecause I came in as a student-athlete and scholarship winner, fundraising appeals to me,鈥� said West, who was a three-sport athlete in high school and her high school class valedictorian. 鈥淚 like the idea of providing scholarships and funds to student-athletes, some of whom are first-generation college students. Many of them couldn鈥檛 attend college without it.鈥�
To boost her chances of getting the job she wants after college, West added a second degree, sport management, which she completed in August. She also spent several weeks last May in a sport management study-abroad program, where she learned about her industry from an international perspective. She and other students from 91热爆网 and a Pennsylvania college traveled to seven countries, meeting with various sport industry experts, visiting soccer stadiums and seeing the French Open鈥檚 famed Roland-Garros tennis stadium in Paris, where they got to watch a French Open qualifying tournament.
鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 gotten the scholarships, I would have had too much debt to study abroad,鈥� she said. The scholarships West applied for and received were the C.S. Madison Academic, Freda Russell Rayburn, Chad M. Flynt, and Bronce and Betty Ray scholarships.
The value of the trip was in seeing how the world of sport operates in a different light, she said, and it was her first time to fly in an airplane.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a different atmosphere,鈥� she said of her experience. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different kind of fan base. Their fans are really supportive. They stick with their team regardless [of if they win or lose]. And, whereas Americans love their football, over there it鈥檚 soccer.鈥�
West graduated with a 3.98 GPA, one degree and a second soon after. She has a study-abroad program under her belt, real-life experience and an internship lined up with the Deacon Club, Wake Forest鈥檚 university athletics development department. She鈥檚 ready, she said, to make her dream a reality, but preferably not too far from Catamount country.
鈥淚 hope to eventually move back to work at Western, a place that鈥檚 given me so much,鈥� she said.